Head ultrasonograhy as a screening tool in apparently healthy asymptomatic term neonates.

Background: The rate of brain abnormalities in asymptomatic term neonates varies substantially in previous studies. Some of these rates may justify general screening of healthy newborns by head ultrasound (HUS).

Objectives: To assess the incidence of intracranial abnormalities among asymptomatic term newborns with HUS and to detect high-risk populations that might need such screening.

Prolonged resuscitation in a newborn recovering from meconium aspiration syndrome.

A complication during the course of meconium aspiration syndrome associated with persistent pulmonary hypertension in a newborn results in hypotension, bradycardia, and desaturation. The dilemmas and critical actions during the resuscitation are presented.

Familial neonatal pneumothorax associated with transient tachypnea of the newborn.

We describe neonatal spontaneous pneumothorax associated with transient tachypnea of the newborn in siblings of two families. Familial spontaneous pneumothorax is extremely rare in neonates. Was our observation just an incidental finding, or is there a familial predisposition to spontaneous pneumothorax?

The role of high-dose oral iron supplementation during erythropoietin therapy for anemia of prematurity.

Objective: To assess whether a high intake of oral iron would increase the effect of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) on hemoglobin synthesis.

Methods: We studied 30 preterm infants (gestational age 29+/-1.8 weeks, birth weight 1161+/-200 g, at age of 28+/-10 days) who were randomly assigned to receive either 8 mg/kg per day (n=15) or 16 mg/kg per day of oral iron during a course of rHuEPO therapy (900 microg/kg per week) for a duration of 4 weeks.

Pulmonary cyst caused by septic emboli in the preterm infant.

A pulmonary cyst appeared in a growing preterm infant. The presumptive diagnosis was septic pulmonary embolism associated with the central venous catheter. The infant was successfully treated with antibiotic therapy and removal of the central venous catheter.

Neonatal urinary uric acid/creatinine [correction of ceratinine] ratio as an additional marker of perinatal asphyxia.

Unlabelled: The diagnosis and evaluation of perinatal asphyxia can be problematic and objective means of assessing its severity are lacking. To study the validity of urinary uric acid as a marker of the degree of perinatal asphyxia, the ratio of urinary uric acid to creatinine (UA/Cr) in urine specimens obtained after birth was measured in two groups of infants. Eighteen term infants with Apgar scores < or = 5 at 5 min and/or an umbilical cord blood pH < or = 7.